Archiving the Work
Archive so a re-edit, a licence or a claim is still possible years later.
Related
The problem
Projects usually end with an MP3 on a laptop while sessions, stems, prompts, model terms and licences scatter. Three years later a re-edit, a licence or a claim arrives and the originals cannot be found. Archiving is not piling up files; it is making sure a specific future use is still possible.
What to keep
A 24-bit WAV master at the project sample rate, with no lossy compression. Stems, MIDI, session files, prompt and seed records, snapshots of the model terms, sample and voice licences, the client brief and sign-off, and the delivered files, all in one project package. Hash every file and store the list with them. Name the package with the work and year, and put the manifest at the top level. Keep two copies on different media, one off-site, and read a sample every six to twelve months to confirm it still opens.
Formats and retention
Cold storage should be lossless, WAV or FLAC, never MP3 or AAC as the only copy. Do not upsample 44.1 kHz to 96 kHz to look high resolution; it only gets bigger. Record the DAW and plug-in versions needed to open the session, and prefer plain text and PDF over proprietary-only formats. Retention follows contract and law; client and production music work is often kept for years as financial records, while rights evidence must cover the life of the work. Model terms change, so snapshot them at delivery. Rights evidence includes the terms in force, input licences, voice consent and the disclosure text.
What to listen for
In the twenty-six minute Toccata, the size and segmentation of a long master, exactly what archiving must plan for. In the Bach Toccata and Fugue for ensemble, how many layers a multi-part session needs. In the funk loop, why even short material needs its source and settings, or it cannot be regenerated. In the Beethoven Fifth, a large session where one missing stem blocks any remix.
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- 数字音频长期保存的格式选择，依档案与图书馆通识核对，未抄原文
- 权利证据与保留期的做法，依合同与公开保存指南归纳，未抄文本
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.